KRG Council of Ministers discuss oil exports, salary disputes with Baghdad

Prime Minister Barzani opened the meeting by discussing the recent visit of a KRG delegation to Ankara, where they met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials.

The meeting of the KRG Council of Ministers, Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: KRG)
The meeting of the KRG Council of Ministers, Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo: KRG)

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers on Wednesday to address key economic and political issues, according to a statement from the KRG.

Prime Minister Barzani opened the meeting by discussing the recent visit of a KRG delegation to Ankara, where they met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials. The discussions centered on regional stability and resolving disputes between the Kurdistan Region and the Iraqi government, with a particular focus on resuming oil exports from the Kurdistan Region. The leaders emphasized the need to protect the rights of all communities and ensure peace and stability in Syria.

During the meeting, Umed Sabah, President of the Diwan of the Council of Ministers, provided an update on the financial situation for 2024. Sabah highlighted the Ministry of Finance and Economy's review of the Iraqi budget law and the Federal Supreme Court's ruling mandating the payment of Kurdistan Region salaries, aligning with the rest of Iraq. Despite a directive from the Federal Iraqi Council of Ministers to continue salary payments through the end of 2024, the federal government has allocated only 10 trillion and 752 billion dinars of the total amount required. The KRG has since utilized 960 billion dinars from its revenues to cover the shortfall and continues to contribute a portion of its revenue to the federal treasury, while the remaining funds are directed toward public services and investment projects.

Abdul Hakim Khasraw, Director of the Department of Coordination and Follow-Up, presented a report on the federal government's biometric registration initiative. Khasraw noted that the Ministry of Planning has sent all necessary job data to Baghdad, underscoring the critical role of the Information Technology Office in finalizing the payroll system and managing employee job numbers.

The Council also reviewed the progress of the central electronic payroll project, part of the broader biometric registration effort. Emphasis was placed on the cooperation between ministries and accounting units to ensure the project was executed without defects before submission to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The Council reiterated the KRG's commitment to fulfilling its financial obligations and continuing negotiations with Baghdad to secure the Kurdistan Region's salaries and entitlements for 2024. However, as of January 2025, Kurdistan Region civil servants have not received their December salaries from the federal government, unlike their counterparts in other parts of Iraq.